Crimes against elderly ‘less likely to be solved’

Research by the charity Action on Elder Abuse Northern Ireland shows that 12% of crimes against those aged 65 or over have been ‘solved’ by the PSNI. For the wider population, the figure is 17.5%.

Researchers working for the charity obtained the figures by poring over official police statistics from 2010/11 to 2016/17.

Crimes are usually recorded as having been ‘cleared’ or solved by the PSNI when an offender has been charged with an offence or dealt with in another way.

When the Action on Elder Abuse researchers looked at the period from 2010 to 2017, they found that for the 33,022 instances where people aged 65 or over were victims of crime, only 3,985 cases were marked as having been “cleared” – just over 12%.

Veronica Gray, director of Action on Elder Abuse Northern Ireland, said: “Older people are telling us that they are not being listened to – that they feel powerless in the face of abusers, and that they don’t know who to turn to for help.

“This is borne out in our research into clearance rates.

“This disparity should serve as a wake-up call to anyone concerned about the welfare of older people in Northern Ireland.”

Action on Elder Abuse NI said that across nine major crime categories, only three showed a higher clearance rate for older victims – violence with injury including homicide; robbery; and “other theft offences”.

In contrast, six categories – including the two with the highest number of older victims (criminal damage and burglary, affecting a combined total of 14,083 victims) and sexual offences – had a lower clear up rate for older victims than younger ones.

Ms Gray said: “If older people are to be able to live their lives in Northern Ireland free from stress, anxiety and crime, they must have full confidence in the ability of our police and criminal justice system to bring offenders to prosecution, and it is imperative that their voices are heard.

“Policymakers and the wider public need to reflect on whether the issue of elder abuse is even on their radar.”

She added: “At a time when we’re seeing the possibility of crimes against older people being classed as aggravated offences in England, Wales and Scotland, it is critical that we offer older people in Northern Ireland the same protections.”

Responding, PSNI Chief Superintendent Simon Walls said: “I understand that crimes upon older people can have a significant impact on their lives.

“I would like to reassure the public that protecting and safeguarding older people in our community is a priority for the PSNI.”

He added: “We are committed to doing everything we can to prevent and reduce the number of crimes committed against older persons and to support victims through effective investigation and by bringing offenders to justice.”

• Action on Elder Abuse Northern Ireland is holding its annual conference at Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey on Thursday, 10am-3.30pm.